Final Fantasy 16 is finally on its way. Two years after the initial teaser trailer, developer Square Enix dropped a brand new trailer that gives fans a worthwhile look at what the next entry in the long-running RPG series has to offer.
Final Fantasy 15, released in 2016, had an infamously long and arduous development, originally being part of the Final Fantasy 13 series until it was delayed and retooled for the better half of a decade. Since then, we’ve seen numerous spinoffs, remakes, and original games from developer Square Enix, but no new main series Final Fantasy titles.

Official Trailer:


Final Fantasy 16 will have a New Game+ mode and multiple difficulty options to choose from when it launches next year. Square Enix's Final Fantasy is one of the gaming industry's longest-running and most popular franchises, so it's no surprise many fans are eagerly awaiting the launch of Final Fantasy 16 for PlayStation 5 next year. Square Enix has assured fans that Final Fantasy 16 development is going well. According to the latest reports, Final Fantasy 16 has passed the 95% completion mark, and it's expected that the game's specific release date will be announced before the year is out. With Final Fantasy 16 expected to launch within the next year, Square Enix has been pumping up its marketing efforts for the title, recently releasing a new trailer and having its developers give interviews on the project. More information on Final Fantasy 16's difficulty modes and New Game+ feature should come to light in the months ahead. The 4Gamer interview revealed some interesting gameplay details about Final Fantasy 16 and will likely get fans of the franchise even more excited about the new game. However, another recent interview has actually drummed up some controversy, calling into question Final Fantasy 16's lack of diversity with its characters. Square Enix explained that the lack of diversity was due to the game being based on Medieval Europe, but some fans have not been satisfied with that particular explanation.

Square Enix gave a release window of summer 2023 for Final Fantasy 16. It makes sense given the long history between the two companies and the fact that the game was revealed during a PlayStation 5 showcase that Final Fantasy 16 will be a timed console exclusive for the PS5. Unlike many other early PS5 titles, it appears that there will be no PS4 version of this game. As far as PC and the Xbox Series X are concerned, we’re still in the dark about how long this exclusivity deal will last. Odds are Sony will have console exclusivity for a year, like what we’re seeing with Final Fantasy 7 Remake, at which point we could see the title hit Microsoft’s machine. PC is likely to get the game earlier, perhaps even at the same time, as Sony has made a push toward supporting the PC more with their first- and third-party-exclusive games.
The reveal trailer, called Awakening, is jam-packed with details in its four-minute runtime. We get glimpses of the story, cutscenes, and what even look to be snippets of actual gameplay. Between the single trailer and the game’s official website, a large amount of story information is available. We know that Final Fantasy 16 will be going back to the traditional fantasy roots of the series as opposed to the recent games that had modern or even futuristic elements to the worlds. The game will take place in Valisthea, which is broken up into six kingdoms: Grand Duchy of Rosaria, Holy Empire of Sanbreque, Kingdom of Waloed, Dhamekian Republic, Iron Kingdom, and Crystalline Dominion. Each kingdom is granted magic thanks to its Mothercrystal, as well as a single person with the power to summon Eikons called Dominants.
In terms of characters, we got a good look at our new protagonist, Clive Rosfield. He is the son of the Archduke of Grand Duchy of Rosaria and was the one who was expected to become the Dominant of that kingdom. Instead, he is the sworn protector of his younger brother Joshua, who was the one to become the Dominant but is still able to use some of the Eikon’s power. Joshua’s Eikon is the fire elemental Phoenix, allowing him to use fire-based magic. Jill Warrick is another character we see briefly and is something of an adopted sister to Clive and Joshua, but not much is known about her role in the story just yet. Perhaps taking a cue from the ending sequence of Final Fantasy 15, there also appears to be some time-period shift in the game’s plot since we see both a younger and much older version of Clive in the trailer. Perhaps the game will go back and forth between two time periods or simply have a time skip at some point. We do learn that the game will focus on Clive during three points in his life: his teenage years, 20s, and 30s.

While there is potentially a demo on the horizon, it will likely be released as it comes closer to Final Fantasy 16's 2023 summer release. This release window was only recently revealed in the "Ambition" trailer for the game that was released in late-October. With only a couple of months left in the year, The Game Awards might seem like the ideal event for the game's official release date to be announced. This is just speculation for the time being however and could be revealed before or after said showcase.

Source from Gamerant.com and DigitalTrends.com by Trumann Tu, Dalton Coper and Jesse Lennox